Santana at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA – August 20, 2022
After being rescheduled to a year later due to the uneasiness of the ongoing pandemic, the Miraculous Supernatural tour featuring Earth, Wind & Fire and Santana finally went live, hitting various locations including the rural Virginia area on August 20. The tour celebrates the anniversary of the 1999 hit album by Santana, Supernatural.
When it comes to Santana, there isn’t anything the fans won’t do for the legendary guitarist. Including sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the worst any concertgoer has ever seen, to turning around and parking in a nearby commuter lot over a mile away from the venue. And going as far as climbing up a precariously steep hill just to reach the sidewalk and make the long, sweaty trek to the pavilion.
Unfortunately, by the time I got to the venue, it was well past the three-song limit that allows us photographers to capture Earth, Wind & Fire. But I could hear them as I walked up to Jiffy Lube Live. However, I was just in time… to wait over an hour for Santana to hit the stage.
Side note, I’ve been a fan of Santana since my freshman year of high school. Back when I had a small crush on Chad Kroeger, I obsessed over the song “Into the Night.” It was then I really fell in love with Santana’s guitar skills. I knew that one day I would see him. I just didn’t think it would be through my camera lens.
Despite the grievances the ticketholders “suffered”, they still had massive grins stretching their faces and crazy excited gleams in their eyes as they beheld the backdrop screen featuring Santana’s logo. Then, the moment we were all waiting for happened: the lights dimmed, and the music in the overhead speakers got louder, playing along with the Woodstock montage the Santana crew set up.
They wasted no time jumping right into the setlist, starting with “Soul Sacrifice,” going into “Jin-go-lo-ba”—a Babatunde Olatunji cover—then into another flawless cover, this time of “Evil Ways” by Willie Bobo. The rest of the set consisted of his more popular hits like his cover of Tito Puente’s “Oye como va,” “Black Magic Woman,” “Maria, Maria,” and “Smooth,” most coming from his Supernatural album.
I will say this: the way Carlos Santana plays was completely mesmerizing, you can’t help but feel entranced by the passion he unleashes through his impeccable guitar skills. You can even see it in his expressions.
It was certainly a night to remember. If the Supernatural tour is hitting your town, do yourselves a favor and buy a ticket. Hopefully you won’t have to endure traffic like we did. Even so, it was totally worth every minute of it.
